His palm settles at the small of my back as we cross the street, the warmth of his hand steady and guiding, the gesture subtle enough that anyone watching might miss the quiet claim in it.With Dante, nothing is accidental.The pressure of his fingers is protective, possessive, and it settles something deep in my chest.
For once, I’m at peace.
The driver opens the rear door.
The interior of the SUV smells faintly of leather and the lingering trace of Dante’s cologne as I slide onto the seat, smoothing my skirt automatically.The small white bag with the ornament rests carefully beside me, the tissue paper inside rustling softly as the car shifts.
Dante follows.
He closes the door behind him with quiet finality before settling beside me, his shoulder brushing mine as the vehicle pulls smoothly away from the curb.
Fredericksburg’s soft lights fade behind us as we leave town, the road unwinding into the wide, dark stretch of Hill Country night.The headlights carve clean ribbons of pale gold through the darkness ahead, illuminating the curve of the road, the low fences, the rolling shapes of vineyards sleeping beneath the evening sky.
Content, I let me head lean against the seat.
I’m pleasantly tired from walking the streets, from laughing more than I expected, from the lingering heat Dante left in my bones long before we ever left the villa this morning.
Without speaking, he places a hand on my knee.The gesture is casual, but my reaction is instant.My breath catches before I can stop it, and I glance at him.“Dante Moretti, you are insatiable.”
Even in the darkness, I see the flare in his eyes as he looks at me.“Are you complaining?”
I grin.“Not exactly.”
His thumb brushes slowly along the inside of my knee.“Then perhaps you’re enjoying yourself?”
“Maybe just a little,” I admit.
The corner of his mouth lifts slightly, the expression dangerously satisfied.
I laugh softly, and the moment feels far too light for the life we both live.
Outside, the darkness thickens and the road narrows.
In the distance, the familiar shapes of the land surrounding the villa begin to emerge, shadowed rows of vines stretching along the slopes like dark ribbons across the hills.
And for one quiet, suspended moment…
Everything feels steady.
Safe.
The kind of fragile calm that feels almost too perfect to last.
Then the world explodes.
The first shot shatters the windshield.
Glass bursts inward in a violent spray as the driver jerks the wheel.
For one disorienting instant my mind refuses to understand what I’m seeing—only that the peaceful darkness outside the car has suddenly turned violent and bright with flying shards of glass and the scream of twisting metal.
“Down!”Dante roars.
His arm slams across my chest, forcing me flat against the seat as the SUV fishtails violently across the asphalt.
Gunfire erupts from the darkness on both sides of the road.Sharp.Rapid, and terrifyingly close.
An ambush.
